A federal grand jury has launched an inquiry into Solyndra, according to court records, an indication that scrutiny of the bankrupt solar panel maker has intensified. The existence of the grand jury investigation was disclosed in papers filed as part of Solyndra's bankruptcy petition, which followed the company's abrupt closure and dismissal of 1,100 employees in August. By the time the Fremont, Calif., maker of tubular solar panels filed for bankruptcy in September, it had received $535 million in federal loan guarantees and $1.1 billion in venture capital funding.

Former Lance Armstrong cycling teammate Yaroslav Popovych testified before a federal grand jury in Los Angeles on Wednesday for 90 minutes, according to his attorney Kenneth Miller. "I would say that after he was finished, I don't believe he knows anything about what the grand jury is investigating," Miller said. Popovych, a 30-year-old from Ukraine who rode with Armstrong on teams sponsored by Discovery Channel, Astana and RadioShack, was served with a subpoena after participating in a charity ride in Austin, Texas, for Armstrong's cancer foundation, Livestrong.

The Orange County grand jury issued a scathing report Tuesday criticizing the public administrator/public guardian's office for "egregious" mismanagement, including questionable promotions that cost hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars. The report, the jurors' second on the subject, concluded "that a complete restructuring" of the office was necessary. "It was outrageous behavior," jury foreman Jim Perez said.

Six employees of Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon have been ordered to appear before a grand jury this week, six months after prosecutors obtained search warrants to determine whether the councilman has been living at his legal residence. Alarcon said Monday that his chief of staff, Saeed Ali, and five other workers in his office have received subpoenas instructing them to testify on Wednesday. Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley's office received permission in January to search two homes owned by Alarcon's wife, Flora Montes de Oca -- one on Nordhoff Street in Panorama City, the other on Sheldon Street in Sun Valley.

Los Angeles city leaders should reverse budget cuts made to the Fire Department during the economic downturn and enact a sweeping series of reforms to the department's 911 call center, the Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury said Friday in its final report . The grand jury recommended that the LAFD's funding be reinstated to 2008 levels, called for replacing the firefighters who answer 911 calls with lower-skilled civilians and suggested an...

A Colorado grand jury voted to indict John and Patsy Ramsey on charges of child abuse resulting in the first-degree murder of their 6-year-old daughter, JonBenét, the beauty pageant princess whose death stunned the nation, according to documents released on Friday. A grand jury sitting in 1999 voted to bring charges against the parents , believed to be suspects in the 1996 slaying. But then-Dist. Atty. Alex Hunter refused to sign the true bill so the charges were never brought and the parents were never prosecuted.

Reporting from San Francisco -- Slugger Barry Bonds never lied to a grand jury and even admitted that he may have unwittingly used steroids, his defense lawyer said in federal court Tuesday. Bonds acknowledged that he had used two substances shown to him during his appearance before the grand jury in 2003 but did not know they were actually anabolic steroids, said Allen Ruby, Bonds' lead attorney. His alleged crime took place in the presence of "a stenographer who took down every word ?

SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal grand jury indicted 29 suspects, including California state Sen. Leland Yee, with a wide range of crimes, including firearms trafficking and public corruption, U.S. Atty. Melinda Haag announced Friday. Yee, a Democrat who represents parts of San Francisco and San Mateo County, and other suspects were arrested last week on a criminal complaint that outlined the charges behind the grand jury indictments. Yee was indicted on charges of corruption, wire fraud and gun trafficking, the same charges laid out in the complaint.

From one who spent the most frustrating year of his life on '81-'82 Grand Jury, my thanks to Robert Stewart for his in-depth articles. It's been a long time since I've seen such accurate work in your paper. He covered the two main barriers to an effective jury, i.e. the selection process and continuity gap, obviously from hours of in-depth research. The only addition I could make would be having the private sector support the system by "volunteering" managers for a year with full pay as did Arco and the Pacific Telephone Co. in my year.